


The Master and Mrs. Pond

by MemoryDragon



Series: Mrs. Pond and the Doctor [2]
Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Amy finds him rather adorable for a megalomaniac, Amy works at UNIT, Amy-verse, Angst, Author shows off Classic Who knowledge, But the Doctor still likes him anyway, Chocolate helps with apologizes, Crack, Gen, He tells her embarrassing stories about the Doctor, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, The Brigadier is BAMF, The Master Has Issues, The Master really isn't a nice guy, Varga Plants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-17
Updated: 2011-10-17
Packaged: 2017-11-18 06:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/557968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoryDragon/pseuds/MemoryDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still waiting for her proper Doctor and Rory to find her again, Amy meets the Doctor's best enemy and gets chased around by a giant purple monster.  So much for hearing embarrassing stories of the Doctor's childhood over chocolate!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Master and Mrs. Pond

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I make any claim to.  
>  **Warnings:** There is a lot of sheer and utter crack in this. Also, some angst. And some Master torture by the monster of the day, because I really do like beating him up for some reason. Nothing he can't handle though.  
>  **Notes:** So here is the highly anticipated sequel to The Sea Devils and Mrs. Pond. Which, might I add, might have been written a lot quicker if more people had told me they wanted it instead of waiting until the massive vote to let me know it was popular. Just saying. ^_~
> 
> Hopefully, this will live up to everyone's expectations.  
>  **Thanks:** Many thanks to narwhale_callin for betaing, even if she types at me in capslock on occasion. XD Also, for a bit of the dialogue concerning the monster of the day. I say again though, this does not excuse you from writing your own drabble with it. 
> 
> **Originally Posted:** Oct. 17th, 2011

"Let me out of here!" Amy yelled as she pounded on the door. Amy was quite sick of being captured. This was the third time since she was stranded at UNIT, and while this time the cell was a luxurious bedroom with a humungous bathroom and jacuzzi, it was the principle of the thing. If she wanted to go to a five star hotel, she'd go by herself. She didn't need to be kidnapped on her wait for the bus by an unseen assailant and locked in.

"I don't know why you've kidnapped me, but you let me out of here!" At least she wasn't in her wedding dress this time. She was wearing a very fashionable green blouse and bell bottoms, with a cream colored jacket. She didn't usually like dressing up like the 70's, but at the moment she didn't have much choice and Amy made do with the best of her fashion abilities.

It had been two hours since she woke up and Amy was definitely bored. The room was very nice - warm colors for decoration and some paintings of oak trees in the fall - but she didn't want to be stuck here. There was no lock to pick, no TV to flip channels, and Amy was tired of talking to herself. She never did understand why the Doctor liked that. "Let me out! Or I swear I'll-"

The door slid open, revealing a distinguished-looking older gentleman in a black Nehru jacket. He was dark, with a salt and pepper beard that would have reminded Amy of a villain if he hadn't also reminded her of a rather cuddly teddy bear. He was just too short to be a villain, really. Once his surprise wore off at seeing Amy about to bang the door down, he smiled charmingly at her, furthering his teddy bear-ness. "Ah, Mrs. Pond. I'm glad to see you're awake," he said.

Amy automatically took a step back to allow the stranger in, thrown off by the air of politeness about him. Okay, that was different. Most kidnappers weren't charming blokes who reminded her of a plushie. Then again, most kidnappers didn't put her up in a five star hotel either. 

The door slid shut behind him before she even thought of trying to get past him and he motioned for her to take one of the comfy chairs. "Are you the one who kidnapped me?" she asked, not sitting down. She hadn't even had time to struggle when she'd been taken, much less able to see her assailant, though she knew she had gotten her captor in the ribs before she blacked out completely. 

"I'm afraid I must apologize for my methods in bringing you here, Mrs. Pond. I trust you've suffered no ill effects from the drug?" The man - whom she had dubbed Teddy - sat down in the armchair and once again motioned for her to take a seat opposite of him. "Please take a seat. Until such time as the Doctor responds, you are my guest here."

"You don't lock a guest in one room," she said, but finally Amy took a seat. She still didn't trust Teddy, but she didn't know how to respond to him. For some reason, he made her think of the current Doctor. It was in the way he relaxed in the chair, though it couldn't be more different from the Doctor. The current Doctor, though tall, always seemed to shrink when he sat down, taking up a small portion of the chair. Teddy, on the other hand, relaxed into the chair and it made him look bigger. She wondered if that was on purpose or not.

"That is due to the Doctor's interference, I'm afraid. I apologize on his behalf," Teddy said with a small inclination of his head. "However, I trust the room is to your liking, Mrs. Pond?"

"How do you know my name?" she asked suspiciously, ignoring Teddy's question. She didn't like the fact he knew so much about her, yet she knew nothing of him. Well, other than the fact that he reminded her of a teddy bear.

"Where are my manners?" Teddy said. "It's terribly rude of me. I am the Master, and it is unfortunate, but your recent promotion to the Doctor's assistant is what brought you to my attention. You are currently required to ensure the Doctor's cooperation."

"Hold on, _you're_ the Master?" Amy's eyes widened as she looked the man over again. She had been told about the Master. Facial hair and suspicions aside, she had dubbed him _Teddy_ because he looked more cuddly than an 'egotistical and unimaginative plodder.' Cuddly and... short. A lot shorter than she had expected. Or maybe she had just gotten used to the current Doctor being so tall. 

Then another thought occurred to her. "Does that make you another Time Lord?" This was before the Doctor was the last of his kind, she remembered. It was one thing to know that and quite another to sit there and talk to another Time Lord.

Teddy - The Master, she reminded herself - nodded, amused by her reaction. "I am indeed. I see the Doctor mentioned me."

"Actually, it was the Brigadier when he was asking if you were still on Earth." The Master was rather less pleased with this information. She supposed she also shouldn't tell him how grumpy the Doctor had gotten, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible while grumbling something about being shot. 

"So what's the point of kidnapping me then?" she asked. Part of her knew that she should be trying to escape, but the thought of talking with another Time Lord was thrilling. She only wished that her Doctor were here, so he wouldn't be the last for at least a little while.

"There is a matter for which I require the Doctor's cooperation," the Master explained, clasping his hands in front of him. "Provided the Doctor doesn't try anything foolish, I promise no harm will come to you. I'm afraid I must confine you to these rooms until then. But if there is anything you should require that is within reason-"

"Chocolate," she said automatically. Part of her was curious to see what the Master's response would be. This was by far the oddest kidnapping she had ever heard of, and he really wasn't doing much against her earlier image of a teddy bear. 

"I'll see what I can do," the Master said in a non-committal manner and a nod of his head. "For now, please don't try anything foolish of your own, Mrs. Pond. I don't-"

The whole building rocked worse than the TARDIS in the time vortex. Amy fell out of her chair as the Master clung to his and there were plenty of crashes to be heard in the bathroom. "Was that an earthquake?" Amy yelled as the shaking lessened.

The Master was no longer the polite gentleman. He was cursing and completely ignoring her as he made for the door. "You'll have to excuse me," he said as he regained his composure, "but I have more pressing matters to-"

The building shook again, this time throwing the Master against the wall. Amy clung to the little coffee table she had crawled under to wait out the earthquake and waited for the tremors to subside. Finally, the shaking stopped, and she crawled out to see her chance. The Master had been knocked unconscious with his close encounter with the wall. Time to get out of here!

Amy tried the door again, but with no luck. The Master had to have gotten the door open somehow. There were no panels for fingerprints or codes that she could see, though. "You couldn't make this easy, could you?" she asked the unconscious Master.

Maybe it was keyed to him? Amy pulled the Master upright, holding him in front of the door with no small amount of effort. He may be short, but he wasn't a light weight. He did, admittedly, smell very nice. It was a pleasant mix of cigar smoke and oak trees that reminded her of her grandfather, and the unique Time Lord scent she could smell on both versions of the Doctor that was a little bit like ginger, but not quite.

"Come on, open!" she told the door as she held him up. Awkwardly, she put the Master's hand on the door. It slid open without further hassle. "Now we're talking!"

She left the Master on the floor and walked forward into freedom... and endless corridors. Just her luck, she can finally get free and she'd get lost and caught again before she could take five steps. Still, she had to try. 

The building shook again and she braced herself in the doorway. When it stopped, she ran down the corridor, taking the first right she came to. Another corridor, then a hat room, a massive wardrobe that rivaled the Doctor's (in fact, she thought this one was larger and had an even odder assortment of clothes, if that were possible), a billiards room (complete with a waiting pool table and balls that were somehow still in place after all that shaking), then a little rose garden followed by a library and a room filled with filing cabinets. By this point, Amy had a sneaking suspicion of where she was, though why a TARDIS would need a room of filing cabinets when it had computer databanks was beyond her comprehension. Still not as weird as the Doctor's swimming pool being in the library.

The shaking continued and it was getting much worse by the time she finally stumbled into what could only be the console room. It looked exactly like the current Doctor's, all white and blinding, but with less wires strewn about to trip her and a few more filing cabinets. Now, she'd gotten used to the Doctor's TARDIS being white, but weren't bad guys supposed to like black or something? The Master wasn't very up on the times, now was he?

The time rotor wasn't moving, so they had to be landed somewhere. The control panel was a lot different from either of the Doctor's TARDISes, but the door control was probably... That one!

Pulling the lever, Amy let out a whoop of happiness as the door opened. It soon turned to a scream as she saw a massive purple eye blocking the exit.

Suddenly, there was a hand over hers, pushing the lever down to shut the door. "I believe I said you were confined to the rooms I provided," he said as the TARDIS shook again.

Amy had more than enough practice at grabbing the console to keep from falling over. She moved out of the way as the Master reached over her to the controls to put the TARDIS in flight. "What was that?" she asked, flipping the nearest switch.

"I'll ask you to kindly refrain from touching the controls, Mrs. Pond," he snapped, returning the switch to its original position. "It was an Eronidon from the planet Kima."

"And why is it right outside the door?" Amy yelled over the shaking. It nearly threw her off, but she hung on.

"It's hardly important at the moment," the Master responded as the time rotor finally started its steady up and down movement. The violent rocking stopped.

They waited a few moments in silence and Amy half expected the Eronidon or whatever it was to start attacking again. Finally, the Master relaxed, releasing his grip on the console. "We've lost it for now," he said, flipping a few more switches. "Now, Mrs. Pond, I must insist you return to your rooms."

"And what if I don't want to?" Amy asked, staying perfectly still. She was near enough to the door control. All she had to do was stall for time until the TARDIS materialized and she could escape.

However, the Master was more than prepared for resistance. He pulled out a long, black object and pointed it at her. "You don't have much choice."

Amy stared at the object. It looked a bit like a cigar, but anything long and cylinder eventually took her mind to the gutter after being a Kissogram for so long. She needed to stall for time and commenting on the Master's choice of weapons seemed as good a topic as any. She ended up trying very hard not to laugh. "What is that, a vibrator?" she asked, stifling a giggle. "I should have known. You kidnap girls, put them in big fancy bedrooms and ravish them when the Doctor's not looking. I'll have you know I'm a married woman!"

"Hardly," the Master said, not at all amused. "Unlike the Doctor, I have no need for relations with lesser beings. And this is a Tissue Compression Eliminator. You'll find, my dear Mrs. Pond, that it's quite deadly."

"So what does it do then?" Amy clapped her hands together with a _whoosh_ motion, using remarkable constraint not to mimic shaking. "Zap! And I'm dead? Or does it burn me to death? You know, you're rubbish at this whole villain thing, with the white TARDIS and that tissue-whatzit. At least have a freeze ray or something."

"You'll find the TCE is a much more elegant solution and much easier to clean up," the Master explained, gripping the weapon in his hands tighter. It was the only show of his temper, but it left Amy wondering if she was pushing a bit too far. He was the one with the weapon after all. "You will be shrunk down to a few mere inches, effectively killing you."

"So it shrinks things?" Amy asked, not caring about how far she was pushing him any longer. This was hilarious. "And I thought the bow tie and ruffles were a cry for help. No, _that's_ not compensating for anything."

"Mrs. Pond, I must insist-"

There was the unmistakable feeling of the TARDIS landing that Amy had been waiting for. She sprang into action, pushing as many buttons on the console as she could get her hands on before pulling the door control. "You fool!" she heard the Master shout as he rushed to fix the damage, but Amy was already running out the door.

"Well, this isn't Kansas," she muttered as the thick heat of the jungle hit her. It was some sort of weird jungle and she was sweating within a few seconds of running, but she kept going. She shed the heavy jacket she had put on earlier this morning to ward off the English weather and left it, needing to put space between herself and the Master more than keeping clothes from the 70's.

She paused briefly to look around her. Of course the Master couldn't land somewhere normal, now could he? Already, she was lost in the thick foliage and she was starting to have second thoughts about this whole running away thing. She slowed down to a walk when her side started hurting, looking around her fearfully. Escaping meant nothing if she were just going to die out here in an alien jungle. And was that a cactus? What was a cactus-like plant doing in this humidity?

Amy continued walking, but more slowly as she took in her surroundings. It was pretty dark, enough that she thought it was night time. But when she found a patch of treeless sky, she couldn't see any stars. A cloudless night with no stars. Amy shivered, thinking of that alternative world where she had grown up insisting on the existence of stars. She came to a full stop, looking up at the sky and wishing Rory were here. She hated feeling so alone...

A hand roughly grabbed her arm, pulling her sharply to the side. "Ow!" she yelled, turning to face the Master indignantly. "What was that for?"

She tried tugging her arm back, but the Master had a grip of steel and he continued pulling her away as he shined a torch beside her. He didn't look like a teddy bear now. He was furious - and a lot more frightening in a dark forest where there was no one else around to help her. "Let go of me!"

"Have you ever heard of the Varga plant, Mrs. Pond?" the Master asked, not letting go of her arm. 

She could hear his anger in his voice, but she kept tugging. "No, I haven't. What's so important about a stupid plant?"

"It's important, because it can kill you with a single scratch, slowly turning you into a plant like them with no thought other than to kill. And there happens to be one right beside you." He shook her briefly and turned her so she could see what his torch was pointing at.

Amy looked to see the cactus-like plant from earlier. It had _moved_ and was right at her elbow, reaching out to attempt to scratch her. Amy stopped struggling immediately and let the Master lead her away from the slowly moving plant.

"Thank you," she said quietly. He wasn't letting go and chancing her running off again, but his grip wasn't quite so bruising. "Why bother saving me, though?"

"My dear Mrs. Pond, a dead hostage fails to serve any purpose," the Master said. 

Amy couldn't help but notice how tense he was, constantly looking around. He was scared, she realized with a start. He was hiding it well, but there was something in this jungle that terrified him. "I thought I was your guest?" she asked, automatically falling back on talking to hide her own surprise and fear.

"That was before you tried to escape," he said curtly. "I warned you not to try anything foolish."

Point taken. "Where are we then?" she asked, deciding a change of subject was in order. "What sort of place has walking killer plants?"

"We're not on Skaro. The jungle is too alive for that sort of radiation," the Master said, more to reassure himself than to her. The planet's name didn't mean anything as far as Amy knew. He looked up at the sky as if to get his bearings and frowned at the lack of stars. "We must be on one of the outer galaxies. I believe Kembel was under Dalek occupation before it was turned into a wasteland. Congratulations, Mrs. Pond. You've escaped onto one of the universe's most dangerous planets during the short time the Daleks were here."

"Daleks? There are Daleks here?" No wonder the Master was acting like this. She had seen how the Doctor reacted to the Daleks back when she met Churchill. Her blood went cold at the thought. Anything that could cause that sort of deep-rooted fear from a Time Lord was terrifying to her, and she didn't think these ones would be offering her tea. 

"I'd say that's very likely," the Master said as he continued to glance around. "The Varga plants are native to their home planet and the Daleks are known to use them as watch dogs on occasion. I suggest we make our stay here as short as possible, since I don't fancy meeting what turns this place into a desert wasteland."

That she could agree with. At least the Master seemed to know where he was going and she let the rest of their walk back to the TARDIS fall into silence. She spotted a few more Varga plants, but the Master kept well away from them.

She had been about to ask if they were nearly to the TARDIS when a loud shriek shook the air. Amy raised her hands to her ears to avoid the painful sound, but the Master was pulling her along. He was no longer careful, but now running and Amy had no choice but to keep up with him. She was inclined to run anyway, since the shrieking was getting louder and didn't sound like the sort of thing she wanted to run into.

Amy did look back though, trusting the Master wouldn't let her run into anything. Above the trees, Amy saw a giant monster flying after them. A giant _purple_ monster. A giant purple monster with very big fangs that looked hungry. The TARDIS, Amy decided, really should be closer.

Her boot caught under one of the tree roots and she would have fallen forward if not for the Master hauling her up. "You little fool! Watch where you're going!"

She didn't need to be told twice. Except now they were running straight into a _tree_. "That's a tree," she said as they came to a stop in front of it. "I don't think climbing it is going to help us since the monster flies."

The Master ignored her as he fumbled for a key. The purple monster flew past them, and then straight upward. It was aiming for a strike, she realized. "Aren't we supposed to be running for the TARDIS?" she yelled frantically.

"Get in!" the Master said, shoving her into the tree.

Amy screamed as he pushed her, expecting to run straight into the bark. Instead, she found herself in the TARDIS control room, the comforting hum of the TARDIS a sharp contrast to the screeching outside. The cool air was a welcome relief to the humidity as well. Was the Master's TARDIS a tree then?

"Don't just stand-"

Amy looked behind her as the Master let out a sharp cry. She moved out of the way, but a purple claw was digging into his shoulder. Looking around, Amy grabbed a coat rack and brought it down on the clawed hand as hard as she could.

The creature shrieked again, blowing a gust of wind into the console room. Amy whacked it harder, hoping the coat rack wouldn't break in half. Finally, it let go of the Master, who stumbled forward.

The claw retracted and Amy raced to the control panel. She shoved the door control down and watched as the door slammed shut, thankfully cutting off the horrible noise as well.

However, the monster outside didn't give up. The TARDIS shook violently as the creature attacked it. The Master stumbled to the control panel, setting the flight controls as quickly as he could. Amy had to help him stay upright against the shakes, but the time rotor started its movement. There was one last violent shake before the TARDIS dematerialized. Amy wished there was the orange chair from her Doctor's TARDIS, so she could sink into it with relief. Sadly, there was nowhere to sit in this minimalist console room. 

Looking around, she saw the Master leaning against a filing cabinet for support, pale under his dark complexion. She still had the coat rack in her hands, she realized idly. He was in no condition to threaten her now. She could overpower him and force the Master to take her back home.

Except he had saved her out there in the jungle. It was her fault he was hurt now too, since he had pushed her in first. With a sigh, Amy put down the coat rack and went over to the Master. "How bad is it?" she asked.

Opening his eyes, the Master winced as he tried to stand on his own. "Not bad enough to warrant your concern," he said coldly. Except when he tried to walk, he nearly fell forward.

Amy caught him before he hit the floor. "Shut up, you're nearly dead on your feet," she said, helping him down the corridor. There was a couch somewhere nearby; she remembered seeing it. Amy ignored the feeling of the TARDIS rematerializing, knowing it wouldn't do her much good. If the last time taught her anything, it was that escaping blindly wasn't a great idea. 

It was a good thing the couch was close. Setting the Master down on it, she looked around and tried to get her bearings. "Where do you keep the first aid kits?"

"Three doors down on the left," the Master said, giving up any pretense of not needing aid.

Amy quickly retrieved the kit and anything else that looked useful. Rory had taught and drilled her on first aid, especially after his first trip on the TARDIS, so she made sure she had enough antiseptic and bandages. At least it was easy enough to find. The console room and layout may be drastically different, but the medical supplies still looked the same. 

She put together a tray and carried it out to find the Master attempting to take his jacket off. The key word being 'attempting.' "You just leave that to me," Amy said as she set the tray down. "I am an expert at getting clothes off a man."

The Master gave her a glare and continued his efforts. She didn't miss the slight color to his cheeks at the implication, which was putting him right back towards cuddly teddy bear. She briefly wondered if all Time Lords were that quick to blush and how repressed their society must be. "I can do well enough for myself-" he started.

"Oh, don't be a baby." She took the jacket from him and helped ease his arm out of it. The Doctor- both Doctors, she was sure - would probably be whining and complaining the whole way, mostly to reassure her and Rory that everything would be alright. He couldn't be too badly hurt if he had energy to complain, after all. 

The Master grit his teeth as she shifted him out of his shirt. She cleaned the wounds as Rory taught her, trying not to think about how much blood the Master was losing or what she would do if that monster came back and he wasn't able to pilot the TARDIS. She felt better when she made a compress to put pressure on his shoulder and he searched through the tray she brought as she finished dressing the wound. Finally, he found two tablets, taking them dry.

The wound bound the best she could, Amy looked the Master over to avoid thinking about the blood on her hands. Teddy bear or not, she didn't want to be sick in front of him. "Not bad-looking, you. If I weren't married, I-"

"Spare me the details, _Mrs._ Pond," he said, a little too quickly. Was it a special Time Lord-y skill to avoid flirting or something? Amy was resolved to test this theory if there was time. Between the Doctor and the Master, she was sure she could get some good results. But who would be the control variable? She wouldn't want to leave one of them out...

The Master looked at his shirt and shook his head sadly. "There's no salvaging it," Amy said helpfully. "Looks like you'll just have to be eye candy."

"Or I can go to the wardrobe and get a new shirt," the Master said as he looked at her in disapproval. "Your husband-"

"Is traveling with the Doctor. The _proper_ Doctor, who accidentally left me here in this time period and hasn't managed to get it right yet to come back for me," Amy said candidly, ignoring the hurt saying this had brought up. As long as she sounded cheerful, she could pretend it didn't bother her. "If he's going to take this long, I can flirt all I like. And you're pretty hot for an older man."

"You're from the Doctor's future? How intriguing," the Master said, side stepping the flirtation completely. He looked both surprised and interested, and Amy couldn't help but wonder if it had been a mistake to mention that fact. "How long have you been stuck here?"

"Two months," she said quietly. She kept telling herself that the Doctor wouldn't give up trying to find her, that Rory wouldn't let him even consider it, but it was getting hard to remember that on some nights. "I can't find a way contact him, either of them. But they're my boys, and I know they're coming. They _have_ to come sometime."

The Master regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, then reached up to her cheek, wiping away the tear she hadn't realized had started to roll down. "The Doctor does have a tendency to be late."

"You can say that again."

"But he usually turns up when you least want him to," the Master continued in spite of her interruption. "He can be very stubborn against things he should know better than to fight, so I'm sure he won't give up on this."

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" A kidnapper who reminded her of a teddy bear was now trying to cheer her up. He was a _rubbish_ megalomaniac, but Amy didn't really mind.

"I am merely stating the facts," the Master said, standing carefully to avoid jarring his shoulder. "Thank you for dressing my wounds, Mrs. Pond, but I-"

"Amy."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Amy," she said. It was odd, being on first name basis with a supposedly evil megalomaniac, but he had saved her life a few times _and_ cheered her up. Kidnapping and threatening aside, he seemed more like a normal bloke. Besides, technically she was Mrs. Williams, though she hadn't really tried to correct anyone, and it always made her feel a little guilty when someone called her Mrs. Pond because of it. 

"Amy," he said a little awkwardly. "I'm afraid I must ask you to return to your rooms."

Amy snorted, picking up the rest of the unused medical supplies. "Are you going to make me?" she asked, not bothering to keep out the amusement in her tone.

"If I must," the Master replied.

"It'll be a lot harder without this," she said, holding up the Tissue-whatever that she had picked from his pocket while they'd been out in the jungle.

He regarded her with surprise and renewed respect, but Amy cut him off before he could find some other threat. "Look, I learned my lesson last time. You need the Doctor's help, right? I'll act as your hostage if he doesn't agree, but it doesn't hurt to ask first."

The Master stared at her, shocked beyond words. "He wouldn't believe me," he said finally. Then he added, "And I don't need his _help_ , Mrs. Pond. Just his-"

"Cooperation, I know," Amy said, rolling her eyes. "Right, then. Ask for his cooperation. And it's Amy, remember?"

"You're a very strange woman, Amy," the Master said, his face unreadable. "You do realize I'm not a man to be trifled with?"

"An evil but unimaginative plodder, got it," she said cheerfully.

She received a glare, but the Master recognized that she was just parroting someone else's words. "Unimaginative?" he asked, looking every bit as scary and furious as he had back in the jungle, but in the light of the TARDIS much less threatening. He closed his eyes momentarily as he regained control of his temper. "I don't think you quite understand the situation you are in."

"Oh, I do," she said reasonably. "You could hurt me. Kill me even. Except I wouldn't make a very good hostage if I were dead, and without your shrink ray, I could probably hurt you a lot more than you could hurt me in your condition. You're running out of options, mister."

"Master," he corrected. He inclined his head in admission to her points. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Which begs the question of why you are helping me, if you're aware of my nature."

That was a good question. Amy had heard a lot about what the Master had done from Mike Yates and John Benton back at UNIT. She knew that he had killed a lot of people in his quest for power. Sergeant Benton had told her about two UNIT soldiers who had been close to him, killed because of something the Master did with some Axos alien. For the first time since she was caught, she allowed herself to really let those facts sink in. No matter how much he reminded her of a teddy bear, the Master was not a nice man. And she knew if she looked on her arm, there would be bruises forming there. She certainly believed he wasn't nice out there in the jungle.

"Because I don't see any reason why I shouldn't," she said finally. She wasn't the sort of person who could just turn around and help someone who had really hurt her. At the same time, the Master hadn't done much to her personally, at least not yet. He'd hurt her on Kembel, but he'd also saved her. She just needed to keep in mind that he wasn't gentle. "It's not like I've got some massive reason to hate you. I don't trust you, but I don't see why I shouldn't help you if that purple monster out there is trying to kill you. Besides, you remind me more of a sexy teddy bear than a mass murderer." 

The look of disapproval Amy received was more than worth being locked up for two hours. She wished her cell phone weren't back at UNIT charging. This was definitely an expression worth capturing on camera.

"You'll find an ample wardrobe four doors down, if you wish to find a change of clothes, Mrs. Pond," he said, lightly stressing her name.

With that, he stalked off with as much dignity as a man who was shirtless and wounded could muster, disappearing down the hallway of the TARDIS. She watched him leave, enjoying the view for every bit of its worth. There was just something about an older man who kept in shape that... Mmm. Sexy. Definitely sexy. 

Putting aside Time Lord attractiveness, Amy found the wardrobe. It was surprisingly modern - more modern than even her century - and Amy reveled in the more form fitting designs. Why did the Master have women's clothes on his TARDIS? She'd heard he was a 'master' of disguise, but with outfits like these someone would need River's hallucinogenic lipstick to think the Master was actually female. It didn't look like they were even his size. 

She daydreamed about discreet romances and Time Lord-y intrigues as she picked out a blue v-neck and a black jacket. A skirt and leggings, plus a pair of boots she was totally stealing - it's not like he needed them - finished out the outfit and she went to find her rooms to take a bath before changing into her new clothes. 

Thankfully, she had gotten very good at remembering how to find her way on a TARDIS. One file cabinet room and rose garden later, she was back in her rooms and readying that big bath tub to clean the blood off. She did check for hidden cameras (teddy bear or no, she still didn't trust him.), but didn't find any. Thus, she soaked in a bubble bath for twenty minutes. The shaking started again as she was drying her hair, but she felt the TARDIS dematerialize again shortly after the second attack. She didn't pay it much mind.

She was glad to find the Master hadn't locked her in her rooms again while she had been bathing. Clean and changed, Amy went out and found the console room without further trouble. That probably meant he hadn't been near her rooms to check on her either. Amy was going to make sure she pouted when she saw him next, to see what effect that had. For science, naturally.

The Master wasn't in the console room. She debated trying to call the Doctor, but the controls were too different and she didn't see a phone. Doubling back, she found the Master resting on the couch from earlier, his eyes closed. He didn't appear to be asleep, but he hadn't noticed her either. He had changed into a white shirt and tie - no jacket, she noticed. It was probably painful enough getting that shirt on. 

He looked tired and in pain. Amy had thought she had seen him relaxed before, but that had been just an act, she realized. How long had that monster been chasing him before he was desperate enough to try and get the Doctor's 'cooperation?' He and the Doctor really weren't that different after all, hiding all the important things to keep her from worrying. 

Retreating a little, Amy made more noise this time when approaching. Now when she came in, he was alert and had the charismatic energy that she had come to associate with the Master. "Finished?" he asked, looking every bit the put-upon male who had been forced to endure waiting for a woman to get ready.

Amy, who had also reapplied her make-up with the help of the TARDIS stocked bathroom and knew she looked good, wasn't apologetic in the slightest. She struck a pose. "How do I look?"

He looked over her clothes and something passed over his face. It was gone too quickly for Amy to catch. "I see you've found clothing that is suitable to your tastes."

Well, that was a side step if she ever heard one. Still, it gave her a chance to sate her curiosity. "Yeah, where did you get all that stuff anyway?"

"The Doctor isn't the only one who welcomes company occasionally on his travels," the Master said. "Though that is hardly important at the moment."

Amy pouted, but she could tell it was a closed subject no matter how much she asked. "Alright, fine, Mr. Stuffy-Pants. So do we call the Doctor now and see if he'll help?"

He stood up, only a small wince giving away how much he must be hurting. Then he motioned for her to go ahead of him, ever the gentleman even in the midst of her teasing, though she did get a mild look of reproach.

Back at the console, the Master went through a complicated array of switches and buttons. Finally, a screen opened up on the wall, revealing a very hassled-looking Doctor. "Oh, it's you," the Doctor said, when he spotted the Master. Amy stayed out of the camera's view, watching the exchange with interest. She was quite curious to see how the Doctor would act with another Time Lord, and she was dying to know more about their mutual past.

"My dear Doctor, that's hardly a way to greet an old friend."

An old friend? Sergeant Benton hadn't mentioned _that_ bit of information. "The last time we met, you shot me," the Doctor said moodily. "I was under the impression that friends don't do that sort of thing."

"That was an unfortunate accident," the Master said, looking genuinely regretful. Amy couldn't help but wonder if this was another act, but somehow, she didn't think so. She pulled herself out of her thoughts when the Master started talking again. "Though I was well within my rights. I did warn you not to try anything, after all. The gun wasn't there for decoration."

What kind of enemies actually expected to not be shot when being threatened? This was getting ever more curiouser by the moment. The Doctor was never going to hear the end of this when she got back. Well, the current Doctor. Amy didn't think she could actually tease her Doctor about it, not when the Master was dead in her time.

"And what about that alliance with the Daleks?" the Doctor asked acidly. "Still playing their game?"

At this, the Master's eyes narrowed and there was a hint of betrayal in his voice. "That alliance was short lived and not of my own choice, as I'm sure you deduced. Once I got back my TARDIS, I didn't need them anymore."

"I don't imagine they were too pleased with that," the Doctor said. Privately, Amy thought there was a lot more to it than that. The Master had definitely been afraid on Kembel, though she didn't know what this alliance had to do with anything. She got the feeling that the Doctor knew it too, and a lot more besides. There was a lot more being said than either of them let on, she realized. It almost felt like listening to only half the conversation when Rory was on the phone, except she could clearly hear both of them talking right now.

"That's not the reason I called," the Master said, shifting the conversation away from the uncomfortable topic. 

"No, I didn't think this was a social call," the Doctor said leaning back with a stern expression on his face. "I take it you are the one behind Amy's disappearance."

It was about time they got to her! Amy didn't step forward just yet though, wanting to watch them a bit longer.

"You wound me, Doctor!" The Master smiled charmingly. If Amy hadn't known any better, the two of them could have been discussing old memories and not her kidnapping. "Mrs. Pond is here as my guest."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

That was her cue. "Hello, Doctor!" Amy said, finally coming in view of the camera with a small wave. "Look, see? Not a prisoner."

She was gratified by how relieved the Doctor looked when she stepped into the camera's path, even if it earned her a small glare from the Master. "He hasn't hurt you, has he? Or hypnotized you into saying that?" the Doctor asked.

"No, I'm... Wait, you can hypnotize people?" Amy asked, turning on the Master. Now that she thought of it, Mike had mentioned something about that. "You haven't been messing with my head, have you?"

The Master ignored both of them, deciding the conversation wasn't worth his attention. "Doctor there is a matter in which your assistance would be appreciated," he said, though the last part came out grudgingly. 

"Is that so?" The Doctor smiled, looking to be in a much better humor now that he knew she was alright. He winked at Amy, but she wisely refrained from laughing. "Will wonders never cease. And why should I help you?"

The Master shot Amy another glare that very specifically said "I told you so." "Then I'm afraid that Mrs. Pond will cease to be my guest," the Master said, losing his polite facade. 

Amy nudged the Master with a sharp jab of her elbow, much to both the Time Lords' surprise. "Be nice," she admonished, before turning to the Doctor. "I told him to ask politely first. _You_ should believe him."

"And he actually listened?" the Doctor asked, torn between amusement and disbelief.

Seeing the Master's hands ball into fists, Amy decided the teasing should come to an end. She much preferred not getting threatened, if it was all the same to them. "Why don't we just help him, Doctor? He's saved me twice now, and he hasn't hurt me. He just needs help getting rid of this monster thing."

"Another summoning attempt?" the Doctor asked with a side glance at the Master. He rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know what foolish plan got you into this mess. I still don't see why I should-"

"Doctor, please?" she asked, wondering why the Master was staying so quiet over all of this. A quick glance his way told her that he was watching her with an odd expression on his face. Well, she could wonder about that later. "You can't just leave him to get eaten by that thing."

"I rather think I could," the Doctor said, but he sighed. "Alright, I suppose I couldn't, though he would no doubt leave me to the same fate. Very well. What do you need me to do? I'm not building something you can use to harm people, understand."

"I wouldn't dream of asking it of you," the Master said dryly, jumping back into the conversation. "I need you to make a sonic device that can act as a cerebral stimulator. I'll also need at least two kilograms of holly."

"Holly? Isn't it a bit early to be festive?" the Doctor asked. "And surely you can make all of that easily enough on your own."

"I'm sure you're aware, Doctor, but it's rather delicate work and-" As if to validate his words, the TARDIS started to shake again. Amy and the Master grabbed hold of the console, waiting for the shakes to subside. 

"I see," the Doctor said. "Yes, that would make things rather more difficult. Give me a few hours and I'll contact you again when I've got a better idea of how long this will take. I take it you'd prefer it if UNIT didn't get involved?"

The Master nodded as the TARDIS shook again. "And Mrs. Pond will be returned to you, once you've made the machine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to dematerialize again."

"If she comes to any harm-"

The Master switched off the connection, not bothering to respond to the Doctor's accusations. "I thought you were supposed to be friends," Amy asked.

"A long time ago, perhaps," the Master said as he took to the controls. "We went to school together. But that hardly matters now."

Amy was about to argue that it did, in fact, matter quite a lot because this was a juicy bit of information, but the weariness in his eyes held her back. The Doctor hadn't been very gracious about helping, had he? If the Master had just taken her hostage, he'd have an excuse to be, but now... Were all Time Lord relationships this complicated? 

"So this monster," she started, deciding a change of subject was in order for now. "How does it keep finding us, if we're moving through both time and space?"

The Master seized on this new topic with abandon, pushing away the dark thoughts. "An Eronidon, my dear Amy, is a trans-temporal being capable of traveling through dimensions and time as easily as you or I draw breath. The Time Lords feared their power and sealed them away in ancient times."

"What, were they jealous or something?" Amy asked. "I feel kind of bad for it, if it was sealed away just for that."

"Due to your earlier outing, it has your scent now as well as mine. I'm sure it will find you easily enough if you wish to convey your sympathies," the Master said dryly.

"I'll pass." So her escape attempt not only got the Master hurt, but had put her on the monster's most wanted list. Again, it seemed like a good idea at the time. "Why go around and unseal it then? It doesn't sound like it would be too friendly."

"The Eronidons were creatures of unparalleled intelligence," the Master explained. "They could be a great asset to have on my side. To be certain, their hatred against the Time Lords for their imprisonment would be great. But if I could unleash that power, I could bring the Time Lords to their knees."

"And the Eronidons would be grateful to you for setting them free?" Amy asked, suddenly realizing what the Doctor meant by 'unimaginative.' That plot sounded like it was right out of some B-movie. It also backfired like they always do in the movies. 

"That was the general idea, yes."

"What happened then? It doesn't look all that grateful to be released."

The Master sighed, clasping his hands behind him. "It appears I failed to take into account that the Eronidons were driven mad by their captivity. Now, all it wants is revenge."

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes," Amy said in consolation. It earned her a glare. "So where to now? I don't suppose you could land us somewhere for a quick massage before the monster turns up?"

"Yes, I'm sure heavily populated planets will appreciate us bringing an Eronidon to terrorize them." Good point. Perhaps he was right on the no massages then. When she didn't insist, he continued explaining. "I'm going to move us forward a few hours in the Doctor's time line."

"Or," Amy purred, putting her hand over his to stop him from reaching the controls, "we can wait for him to call normally and you can tell me all sorts of embarrassing stories about the Doctor."

She had timed it right. This time, the Master looked amused by her inquiry. "And why would I do that? I'm sure the Doctor wouldn't mind telling you himself, or he wouldn't appreciate me talking."

"But those aren't the _good_ stories. I want all the dirt on him, and I bet you're really good at telling stories." He wasn't buying it, not even with the flattery. Amy thought for a moment and brought out the T.C.E. "You can tell him I threatened you? Come on, please? I won't tell him you said anything."

The Master looked at the T.C.E., which he didn't tell Amy that she was holding backwards. "You make a very convincing argument, Mrs. Pond."

* * *

"I see someone has been enjoying themselves while I've been working," the Doctor said as his face appeared on the screen.

Amy, who couldn't stop laughing, merely waved the Doctor off. She was, truth be told, very put out that the Doctor had finally called. The Master's stories were getting _good_.

It was the Master who answered, smiling wryly from behind his cup of tea. "Simply passing the time, Doctor. Do you have any news for us?"

"It'll take me a few days to get all the materials together, old chap," the Doctor explained. "It's not all easy to come by, you know. And I've had to tell UNIT that you insisted I came alone or Amy would be hurt to make sure they didn't get involved."

"Well, excuse me for thinking outside the box that everyone could just get along," Amy said. "What's wrong with asking politely?"

The Doctor ignored her in favor of more pertinent information. "Give me a week, and I'll meet you out at the abandoned Thompson farm, some 20 miles away from here. Do you know it?"

The Master nodded. "We'll see you there."

Amy was disappointed this time on how short their conversation was. She was even more disappointed when the Master immediately started to set the coordinates. "Shouldn't you let your shoulder heal first?" Amy asked, hoping to get more of the Doctor's childhood escapades from him.

"The quicker this is over, the sooner it can heal," the Master said. 

She supposed she shouldn't blame him for wanting this whole thing to just be done with, not with how tired he looked earlier. However, that didn't mean she was giving up. "Can't you at least finish the story about how the Doctor used the Krynoid as his botany project before we-"

The TARDIS shook, sending both of them flying across the console room. The tea clattered to the floor as well, but it didn't spill. The Master refused to chance good china with constant and irregular interruptions, so they both had been drinking from durable sealed cups. "I'm afraid that will have to wait," the Master said grimly as he got back to the console, only a brief wince as he started to use his bad hand to reach for the controls giving away the fall had hurt.

Amy sighed, watching the time rotor rise and fall with resignation. She'd been having _fun_ , and it was a lot better than passing the Doctor test tubes all day. She had to go back sometime though, because she doubted Rory and her Doctor would be able to find her like this. "Fine. What's the plan then, Teddy?"

"The plan, _Mrs. Pond_ , is to disrupt the creature's brain waves and reseal it where it won't harm anyone else."

Ignoring the jab at her name, Amy picked the tea cups off the floor. "Is that what the holly is for?"

"Holly was a delicacy to the Eronidons. When I mix it with some selenia pollen, which will put it to sleep, it won't be able to resist it. Unfortunately, it only digests things when it hears sounds at a certain frequency. Hence the sonic cerebral disruptor."

"And do we have any of that?" Amy asked, since he hadn't asked the Doctor to get pollen.

The Master went over to the filing cabinet, grabbing a container that managed to stay on top of it even through the worst of the attacks. It was fairly big and as he handed it to Amy, she realized it was much heavier than it looked. "Indeed I do. May I leave the task of mixing the pollen and the holly to you? I should like to check on the Doctor's work when we get there. He has been known to purposefully sabotage equipment for me."

Amy nodded, looking down at the container thoughtfully. "So I just mix the two together? What do we do with it after that?"

"We wait until it is confused by the cerebral stimulator and put the holly out where it can get to it. Once it digests the mixture, the sonic waves will activate the Eronidon's brain to make certain the chemicals in the pollen put it to sleep," he explained.

"Sounds complicated," Amy said, wondering why they couldn't just use a regular sleeping pill. Still, she took the container and the ear plugs offered to her. Once the TARDIS had materialized, Amy and the Master walked out into a sunny English summer. She looked back automatically as she exited the TARDIS, surprised to find that it wasn't a tree any more. It was a little lean-to that fit right against an old barn.

The Doctor and the Brigadier were in front of the barn, setting up some kind of machine on a group of tables. Setting the container down, Amy practically tackled the Doctor with a hug.

"Ah, there you are, Amy! I'm glad you're safe," he said, patting her fondly on the head as he beamed down at her. That was one thing this Doctor did very well, hugs. She always liked how he smelled too. 

"Never better," she said as she pulled away.

"Then our part in this ridiculous charade is over," the Brigadier said. "We can leave as soon - Mrs. Pond! This is highly inappropriate."

The Brigadier was much more awkward about the hug. And Amy laughed as she pulled away and saw his eyebrows inching higher. She had become very fond of the Brigadier, despite the Doctor's grumbling, and it was always fun pushing his ideas of what was 'proper' for a young married woman to do. "Alright then, I've got my boys and it's time to get rid of that monster!"

"As I was saying," the Brigadier said, detangling himself and moving a proper distance away from Amy. "That is none of our concern. Now that you are free, we can leave. Isn't that right, Doctor?"

"I'm afraid that is rather impossible, due to our query having Mrs. Pond's scent as well now," the Master said as he walked forward. "My dear Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Now this is a pleasant surprise to see you here. I was quite sure I requested the Doctor come alone." 

"He insisted that he come along as well," the Doctor said, not altogether as displeased as Amy thought he would be. "And if you put her in danger because of-"

"It was my fault," Amy said, calling everyone's attention back to her. "I tried to escape and the monster came after us. It got my scent then."

"Well, there's no helping that," the Doctor said finally. Amy went back to pick up the container as the Doctor motioned towards the machine. "I suppose we'll have to stay and make sure things work out after all. We were just putting on the finishing touches."

"Then allow me to assist you, if the Brigadier won't mind being replaced. I'm sure he could help Amy with mixing the selenia pollen and holly."

"Is that your plan then?" the Doctor asked as they both started going over to the machine without bothering to see if the Brigadier objected. Amy watched them continue to bicker, surprised when the Master started complimenting the Doctor on the craftsmanship.

"Selenia pollen?" the Brigadier asked her after he cleared his throat, clearly not at all displeased to do the more manual labor. 

"Oh, right," Amy said, opening the container. She launched into the simple version of the plan, since she didn't think the Brigadier would care for the more complex one. "We're supposed to mix the holly and the pollen, and this will put it to sleep, or something like that. Then they can seal it away again."

The Brigadier raised his eyebrows, but he shrugged. "It's a surprisingly straight forward plan from him," was all he said as he showed her where the holly was. Putting on gloves to avoid getting the pollen on their skin, Amy and the Brigadier set to their task.

As they mixed the pollen and the holly, Amy continued to watch the Time Lords. They were getting along fabulously now, talking and smiling at each other. In fact, they were pretty touchy-feely too. Any time the Doctor moved around, he'd put his hand on the Master's back or the Master's hand would brush against the Doctor's as he reached for-

"Oh, my God," Amy said, interrupting their conversation.

"Is something wrong?" the Doctor asked, looking over at her. 

"You two aren't just old friends, are you?" Amy asked, her eyes widening in realization. 

The Doctor and the Master exchanged glances, each just as baffled. "We went to school together, yes. That was a long time ago though."

Oh, yes. They went to school together alright. "He's your ex-boyfriend, isn't he?" she asked, scarcely able to believe her luck. He was _never_ living this down. 

The result of this question was rather comical. The Doctor sputtered, the Master looked speechless, and the Brigadier simply raised an eyebrow as he continued to mix the green leaves with the yellow powder. "I'm right. Oh, my god, I'm right."

"You are most certainly not," the Doctor said finally.

"My dear young lady, we are sworn enemies," the Master agreed. "We were once good friends, but that has been over for decades."

"Sooo, it's unresolved sexual tension? Actually, that's pretty hot too." She couldn't have gotten this wrong. She called it on River Song, she was certain, and she knew she had these two nailed as well. They were protesting way too much.

"Brigadier, if you could explain the situation to her," the Doctor said, too affronted by Amy's sudden betrayal to explain.

The Brigadier raised the other eyebrow, managing to silence both protesting Time Lords with some super power that Amy was jealous of. "It's none of my business if you were. What matters now, Mrs. Pond, is that we get this trap set up before whatever it is comes to kill us all."

"Yes, quite," the Doctor said sulkily when he didn't get the firm denial he was looking for.

The Master, for his part, was already very focused on connecting the last few wires and ignoring this humiliation completely. Amy noticed they didn't touch anymore after that either. "I called it," Amy whispered conspiratorially towards the Brigadier.

"A lot of things could have happened in the past, Mrs. Pond," the Brigadier rebuked. "What matters is the present."

"Yeah, I suppose so." She looked over at them again, noticing how neither of the Time Lords were looking at each other this time. "But if there were a betting pool..."

The Brigadier spared a quick glance at the Time Lords, as if he were looking at a map for where to best place troops. "If there were a hypothetical betting pool and they are 'unresolved' as you say, I might have just won twenty pounds from your predecessor, Miss Grant. She was most insistent on your original conclusion."

Amy looked back at the Brigadier in shock and surprise. He met her gaze, eyebrows poised and quite sternly telling her that no one else was to be privy to this information. She _knew_ she liked the Brigadier for a reason. None of his business, her foot.

Her daydreams of hot Time Lord sex were interrupted by that monster's terrible screaming. Her hands nearly went to her ears before she remembered she was still wearing the gloves. 

"The holly!" the Master called out, motioning to both of them to hurry up. 

They gathered the tablecloth together and the Brigadier tied their mixture in a neat knot, carrying it over just as a huge purple monster flew over head. Everyone ducked, despite how it cleared the barn easily. "Good grief," the Brigadier said as they reached the machine where the Time Lords were. "What the devil is that?"

The Doctor looked positively thrilled that the Brigadier had asked. "My dear Lethbridge-Stewart, that is a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater."

The Master looked about ready to hit the Doctor for that comment, and Amy decidedly didn't blame him. "I don't think it's here for the Rock and Roll, Doctor," she said in hopes of deterring the Master's temper. She pulled off her gloves as the monster wheeled around for another pass, which was when she noticed one particular detail. "And it has two horns."

"Oh," the Doctor said, looking vaguely disappointed. "So it does."

"Brigadier, can you toss the holly a safe distance when it flies by?" the Master asked, attempting to bring the topic back to its proper place.

"I believe so," the Brigadier said, checking the area and the Eronidon for his direction.

"Then put your headphones on, everyone!" the Doctor said as a loud screech proclaimed the monster's fury. The last thing Amy heard him say before she put in her much higher tech ear plugs, was 'I always thought the Eronidons were more of a blue-ish green color" with the same enthusiasm of a three-year-old who had discovered a new toy. She had thought her Doctor was a nerd, but this one occasionally went over and above expectations.

She helped the Brigadier with his headphones since he was still wearing the gloves, then took cover. The creature swooped by again, and Amy had to hold on to the table as the gust of wind from its wings nearly knocked her down. How the Brigadier managed to throw the holly in all of that was beyond her, but it flew off a safe distance, right past the creature's nose. Then he stumbled forward as the wind hit him, but the Doctor caught him and helped to steady the Brigadier to his feet.

The giant, bushy purple creature wheeled again, this time on the holly. It worked like a charm and now it was tearing at the table cloth greedily to get to its snack, ignoring everyone on the ground. She looked back to motion that it had worked, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention. He was looking down at the Brigadier's gloves.

Suddenly, he started motioning angrily at the Master. There was a flurry of hand movements and signals, none of which made any sense to Amy. It didn't even look like normal sign language. Then the Master stopped signaling and reached over the machine to turn it on.

The Doctor sprang into action, tackling the Master and driving him away from the button. They grappled on the ground as the Eronidon finished the holly and pulled back its head for another scream. 

Someone had to turn the machine on! But why would the Doctor stop the Master from doing so? That didn't make sense, not unless the Master had done something to it. But it was the Doctor who built the machine.

The creature launched itself into the air and this time it intended to strike at them. Amy looked around for the Brigadier, who started shooting as soon as it was airborne. The bullets weren't doing any good and it would only distract the monster for so long. It flew low, readying its long claws to tear the Brigadier to pieces.

Amy didn't have time or the choice. She raced over to the machine and pressed the button the Master had been reaching for.

The machine started to vibrate and Amy was glad for the ear plugs. It was so loud that she could feel the vibration and it felt like she was going to be shaken to bits. Amy knew she must have screamed, though she couldn't hear anything beyond the constant shaking.

She saw that the Doctor was furious, but it was the Master who shook him off and took her by the shoulders to draw her away. The vibration lessened the further away she got and Amy found she could breathe normally once she wasn't at the epicenter of their man-made earthquake. 

The Eronidon wasn't fairing so well. It crashed into the ground, the Brigadier barely having time to jump to the side before it hit him. It clawed the ground in agony, screeching at the top of its lungs. It was horrible watching it, like some movie with the sound muted, since she couldn't hear the noise.

The Doctor turned off the machine, shouting angrily as he turned to face them. He tore off his head phones, motioning for Amy and the Master to do the same to their earplugs. 

"-little fool! Do you understand what you've done?" she heard finally.

Amy looked at the Eronidon who was in obvious pain, suddenly not so sure of what she'd done. "The pollen was supposed to put it to sleep so-"

"Selenia pollen is white!" he yelled, cutting her off. 

If that wasn't selenia pollen, then what..? She heard the creature scream again, though this time it was a more pitiful sound. Her hands flew to her mouth as she realized. 

She had poisoned it.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling numb. "I didn't know that... I thought-"

"You didn't think, no, or you'd have realized I was stopping the Master for a reason!" the Doctor said, turning away from her to walk towards the creature.

She watched as he pet its side, smoothing the purple fur over its one massive eye. "It was going to kill the Brigadier," she said, though the person she was trying to talk to wasn't listening. She had killed it, even if it was going to hurt people. It hadn't been its fault either, being locked away for so long by the Time Lords. And she had killed it.

"It was a mercy," the Master said, coming up behind her. "Confining it again would have been just as bad, if not worse. The Doctor knows that. He's the one being a fool."

"You lied to me," she said, wheeling on the Master as she finally found her anger. "You said the pollen would put it to sleep. We could have helped it!"

"And maybe it could have killed all the people in London before we could get close," the Master said, his eyes turning hard. "Not that human lives matter to me one way or another, but I prefer not to accumulate such a waste when it's unnecessary. It's kill or be killed, Mrs. Pond."

Amy didn't respond to that. She didn't know how to respond. This time he didn't wipe her tears away as she started to cry. "Now, you'll have to excuse me," he said when she didn't say anything. "I should leave before the Brigadier gets it into his head to arrest me."

The Master left after that, back to the little lean-to shed. She could hear the noise of the TARDIS taking off, but she couldn't move to stop him. Maybe she should have yelled for one of the others, but right now she never wanted to see the Master again. It was better if he was just gone.

Though her eyes were blurred, she saw the Brigadier picking himself up out of the bushes he had landed in. She went over to help him, since he appeared to have twisted his leg. "Are you alright, Mrs. Pond?" he asked, before she had gotten close.

"I killed it," she said quietly, not bothering to wipe the tears away. 

"And I take it that scoundrel took off as soon as the coast was clear?" 

Amy nodded, waiting for the reprimand she knew was coming. However, as she moved to support the Brigadier, she found him offering her a handkerchief. "You did save my life," he reminded her gently.

She accepted the handkerchief, finally rubbing her eyes. "The Doctor doesn't see it that way," she said. It wasn't even the first time, after what happened with the Sea Devils. This time he might not forgive her. 

"It was the only thing you could have done," the Brigadier told her, patting her shoulder in awkward reassurance. "He'll realize that eventually. Now, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to help me walk."

Amy helped the Brigadier over to one of the tables, watching as the giant creature closed its big, purple eye one last time.

* * *

Amy came in the next morning, despite the Brigadier's insistence that she take a few days off. He wasn't resting at home, though he had to move around UNIT HQ in crutches, so she didn't see why she should be out too, other than for emotional things. And since she really didn't want to think on that anyway, coming in to work sounded like a good idea.

Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton threw her a welcome back party, complete with military grade hot coco and some homemade biscuits from Benton's sister. They tried to cheer her up, but she was still in a subdued mood, mulling over a biscuit and glancing at her cell phone.

She couldn't help but think back to the Star Whale that the Doctor had nearly killed, but she had saved. He had blamed her and all the other humans for not being able to save it at the time. Except, this time it was the opposite. He had been trying to save the Eronidon, and she had killed it. This time, it really was her fault. She should have listened to the others about not trusting the Master.

She avoided the Doctor's lab, running errands for the Brigadier so Benton could stand guard and make sure he stayed off his feet. It wasn't bad work, being a general assistant for UNIT. Not something she wanted to do for the rest of her life, but she wasn't unhappy here and the people all looked after each other and her. She just wished she could tell Rory about what happened, so he could comfort her.

When she'd done everything that she could find to do, Amy slipped out and went outside for a walk. There was a small park not too far away from HQ and it was a nice enough day out. Amy walked through it, not really seeing any of the trees or flowers. It was a pretty place, and she and the Doctor occasionally had a picnic lunch out here.

Taking a seat on one of the wooden benches, she stared down at her cell phone in gloomy silence. She still couldn't get through. The Doctor had fixed her phone so that it worked anywhere, so why wouldn't Rory pick up the stupid phone?

She sat there for twenty minutes before someone slid into the seat beside her. She didn't look up.

"You'll get home," the Doctor said after a few moments. "It's not like I don't know where you are."

"Yeah, I know," Amy nodded, sending another text message to Rory. Nothing important, just another text about how she missed him. She had already bleakly explained what happened, not expecting a response, but she couldn't stop trying.

They sat in silence for a while longer, before the Doctor sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before," he said finally, a little awkward as he apologized. "It was out of line, and there was nothing else to be done by that point."

"I honestly didn't know about-"

"Yes, Amy, I'm aware of that."

Amy finally looked up to see the Doctor had closed his eyes, looking weary. Gingerly, she leaned against his velvet shoulder, closing her own eyes against the smooth fabric. She wanted Rory to hold her, so very much, but if she couldn't have that, snuggling with the Doctor was the next best thing. "What are they going to do with the Eronidon's body?" she asked quietly.

"I'll take care of it," the Doctor said. "I can think of a few places that would be a suitable burial place. After what the Time Lords did to it, I owe it that much. Would you like to come with me?"

"Yeah, I think I do," she said. She hadn't managed to say sorry to it while it had been dying. She wanted to see it off, if nothing else. There was still something she needed to know, though. "Doctor, was there another way?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "There might have been, or maybe there wasn't. But I suppose we'll never know now."

She had been afraid of that. She also knew it wasn't her fault, but the Master's for not even taking that chance. But that didn't make her feel any less guilty. "Was he always like this?" Amy asked after a more comfortable silence.

"The Master?" the Doctor asked, and she nodded. "No, he used to be much less twisted. He was a very dear friend once, though that was a long time ago. Sometimes, it's hard to remember how much he's changed."

"I thought..." Amy started, pausing as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I heard about him from Sergeant Benton and the others, so I knew he wasn't to be trusted. But he didn't seem that evil. He was nice to me, and I liked him up until... And he'd planned that all along, hadn't he?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that he did," the Doctor said sadly. "He couldn't risk it coming after him again."

"Is it bad, to still like him anyway?" Because even after all of that... He _had_ saved her, and talked with her. He'd even tried to cheer her up when she was missing Rory, and reassured her when the Doctor was angry at her. He might have been a rubbish kidnapper who tricked her, but he also made her laugh.

Amy looked up to see the Doctor smiling down at her. "No, I don't think so. Between you and me, I'm still awfully fond of the idiot when he's not plotting. Don't you let that information get around though." His voice was teasing, but she could tell he meant it. "That doesn't mean we condone what he did. Just that it's possible to forgive him, if he ever gets some sense knocked into him."

How much would it hurt, to have such a close friend doing such awful things? Amy tried to imagine what she would do if Mels ever did something like that. It felt like betrayal. Mels was a real pain in the backside sometimes, but she wasn't evil. And for the Doctor to want to look past that betrayal in hope that the Master would someday change back... He must have been a very dear friend to the Doctor.

"I'm glad you got along with him," the Doctor said, bringing her out of those thoughts. "It's good for him to interact with other people normally. I still hope that someday he'll wake up from these foolish ideas."

"Where there's life, there's hope?" Amy quoted from what this Doctor often told her. Except, the Master was dead in her Doctor's time line. She wondered if they ever did become friends again before the Time War ended everything. She hoped they did.

"Let's skip out on the rest of the day's work, shall we?" the Doctor asked with a smile. "What do you say I show you Centauri Prime during the Great Empire?" He stood up and offered her his arm.

She could do this. She could wait. Rory waited for her, so she could wait for him, especially if the Doctor was going to wait on the Master. "It's a date then," she said, giving one last sniff and a smile. Amy took his arm and they walked back to HQ.

Benton waved them through to get to the TARDIS as they passed through the lab check point. "I see you two have made up," he said, grinning at both of them. "Oh, and Mrs. Pond, there's a package for you on the table. It arrived a few minutes ago."

"A package?" Amy asked, going in the lab and regarding the box with curiosity. "Who would send me a package in this time period?"

The Doctor picked it up and shook it, then looked back to Benton. "It passed all the security checks?" When Benton gave an affirmative, the Doctor passed the package back to her. "Well, go on and open it then!"

Honestly, he was worse than a five-year-old at Christmas! Amy laughed and started to tear at the neatly wrapped box since it was expected of her. Inside was a very expensive-looking box of chocolates.

"Looks like you've got an admirer, Miss," Benton said as he looked on.

"A very wealthy one," the Doctor said, stealing a chocolate and popping it in his mouth. 

Amy pulled the remaining chocolates to her, only reluctantly offering one to Benton as he looked at her with those puppy eyes. "I'm not complaining," Amy said as she tried one of the chocolates herself. It was... Oh, God, this was good. The chocolate was an orgasm for her tongue and she savored it as it melted in her mouth. "That settles it. I'm having an affair."

"With the secret admirer?" Benton teased.

"With the chocolate!" Amy said.

"There's a note in here," the Doctor said, once she slapped his wrist away as he tried to pilfer another chocolate. He was so not stealing these.

Amy looked to Benton to make sure it wasn't just some ploy to get her to lower her guard, and then reached down in the box to pull out a small note.

She didn't recognize the handwriting, but it was in a very neat cursive that flowed over the paper gracefully. "Here is the chocolate, as requested. I apologize for the delay," she read aloud.

"As requested?" the Doctor asked, taking the note from her and studying it. "It's not signed."

"Nope, it's not," Amy said as she popped another chocolate in her mouth to cover a grin. She already knew who it was from, but that was her secret for now. 

The Doctor looked like he was about to ask anyway, so she thought of a quick way to throw him off the scent. "I'm going to go share some of these with the Brigadier, since he's wounded," she announced, slapping the Doctor's hand away again. She laughed as he pouted, taunting him with one of the chocolates. She might give him another one later, if he actually asked nicely.

And maybe she couldn't forgive the Master right now, but he at least knew how to treat a girl. Maybe one day he would change. Until then, she was more than willing to accept his chocolate.

~FIN~

**Author's Note:**

> Quote of the Fic:
> 
> "Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."  
> -Peter Ustinov


End file.
